By Veronica Brezina
A Pennsylvania real estate firm that has made significant investments in Tampa has scooped up the Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove resort in St. Petersburg.
Willner Realty and Development Co., under the WRD LLC entity name, purchased the 18-acre waterfront resort at 6800 Sunshine Skyway Lane S. and several adjacent parcels, totaling over US$17 million in transactions, according to property records.
Willner and its related companies own retail complexes, mid-rise office buildings, hotels and apartments in Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The group previously acquired several large properties in Tampa Bay, including the 320-unit downtown multifamily building at 112 N. 12th St. at the southern end of Tampa’s Channelside District.
The St. Pete properties purchased include the actual resort, the private 32-boat slip marina behind the property, the tennis/shuffleboard courts, and a vacant triangular property located on the corner of the Sunshine Skyway Lane S. and Pinellas Point Drive S.
The 144-room Magnuson closed in 2020 following a mass layoff of 55 employees; however, a May 6 post on its Facebook account states the hotel is open, but the Nepa Hut bar remains closed.
The hotel offers a small private beach, two pools and two on-site restaurants: Periscopes, a casual eatery that serves classic American food and seafood, and the Banyan Tree Deli.
Private vendors also surround the property, including Island Adventures, which operates dolphin watch tours, and the Island Jet Ski Rentals.
The Magnuson General Manager Steven Springman and representatives at Willner Realty and Development Co. were not immediately available to comment on the deal.
This isn’t the first Magnuson hotel that was sold in the area. Last year, the 118-room Magnuson Hotel Clearwater resort sold in a US$6 million deal to Jacksonville-based US Highway Hospitality Associates LLC entity.
